U.S. News' annual college rankings highlights about a dozen Inland Empire schools

About a dozen area colleges and universities have been spotlighted in one of the most prominent rankings of the nation's colleges and universities.

U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges 2013 list, released Wednesday, lists 106 California colleges and universities on several lists, including 34 in the Los Angeles and Inland Empire regions.

In the Inland Empire, Cal Baptist in Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, La Sierra University in Riverside, Pitzer College in Claremont, Pomona College in Claremont, Scripps College in Claremont, UC Riverside, the University of La Verne and the University of Redlands were ranked by the magazine.

The report's authors base their list on "up to 16 indicators of academic excellence" from each college, weighted according to the magazine's judgment about how important each measure is.

Although the list is viewed somewhat skeptically by some educators, it's popular with the public. As a result, universities, including Claremont McKenna, have been caught goosing the data that goes into the rankings. (Claremont McKenna fell from No.9 to No.10 in the magazine's list of national liberal arts schools this year.)

National universities

UC Riverside and the University of La Verne were highlighted on the magazine's list of "national universities."

"National Universities offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and Ph.D. programs, and emphasize faculty research," according to the magazine.

UC Riverside was ranked No.101 among national universities. The University of La Verne came in at No.165.

"Once again, La Verne is proud to be recognized as a top-tier national institution," university President Devorah Lieberman said Wednesday. "As a smaller school, we are especially pleased of what we have been able to achieve year after year. We look forward to even greater success in the future."

National liberal arts colleges

Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer College, Pomona College and Scripps College were highlighted on the list of "national liberal arts colleges."

"National Liberal Arts Colleges focus almost exclusively on undergraduate education. They award at least 50percent of their degrees in the arts and sciences," according to the magazine.

Pomona College was named No.4 in the nation among national liberal arts colleges, tied with Middlebury College. Claremont McKenna was ranked No.10 (tied with Vassar College), Harvey Mudd was named No.12 12, Scripps College was ranked No.24 and Pitzer College came in at No.43.

"We're glad to see Harvey Mudd College garner this recognition for the excellent work of our faculty, students, staff and alumni," Maria Klawe, the school's president, said Wednesday. "The rankings reflect our commitment to a rigorous science and math education within a broader liberal arts context that develops future scientists and engineers who understand the impact of their work on society. Our focus on interdisciplinary teaching, research and professional practice generates graduates who are uniquely prepared to deal with the most difficult challenges in an ever-changing world."

Claremont McKenna's ranking was down one point from last year, and comes five months after outside investigators working for the school discovered that a former dean of admissions had inflated SAT scores - one of the criterion the magazine uses in its rankings - after median SAT scores for incoming students had dropped.

Best regional universities, colleges

Cal Baptist, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino, La Sierra, and the University of Redlands were listed among the best regional universities and colleges in the West.

"Regional Universities offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master's degree programs but few, if any, doctoral programs," the magazine says. "Regional Colleges focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than 50percent of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines; this category also includes schools that have small bachelor's degree programs but primarily grant two-year associate degrees. Regional Universities and Regional Colleges are further divided and ranked in four geographical groups: North, South, Midwest and West."

The University of Redlands was ranked No.11 in the magazine's listing of best colleges and universities in the West.

"This ranking places the University of Redlands among the top universities in the nation," university spokeswoman Karen Bergh said Wednesday. "We consider it an affirming recognition, not only of the high-quality education, but of the university's time-honored tradition of excellence as a premiere liberal arts university on the West Coast."

Cal Poly Pomona came in at No.34.

"Cal Poly Pomona's ranking - 34th overall and eighth among public universities in the West - reflects well on the quality of education we continue to provide despite a very challenging economic environment," spokesman Tim Lynch said Wednesday. "We are most proud that we graduate so many ready-to-succeed students who will be the backbone of the state's economy: the engineers, architects, scientists, teachers and many others whose contributions in coming years will be significant."

Cal State San Bernardino was at No.54.

"It's always a huge honor to be included in the rankings and continue to move up," CSUSB spokesman Sid Robinson said Wednesday afternoon.